The forecast is calling for sunny skies and peaceful protests tomorrow, the first day of what could become many as part of a continent-wide expression of solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City.
More than 3,000 people have stated their intent via social media to attend the Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»demonstration beginning Oct. 15 at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Art Gallery, and most are hoping crowds will behave dramatically different than the last time thousands of people gathered in the downtown core four months ago.
"People are concerned, probably more so if it hadn't been for the Stanley Cup event," said Dave Jones, security consultant for the Downtown Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Business Improvement Association (DVBIA). "I suspect [police] will have more resources available than there might normally be, just as an added precaution in the event that some people really want to push the point about occupying property, but I can't see it getting too out of hand. The organizers seem to be quite thorough about being peaceful."
Several hundred people attended a meeting Oct. 8 to discuss plans for the demonstration, which is intended to "challenge corporate greed, corruption, and the collusion between corporate power and government."
Hundreds of similar protests are being held in cities across North America, and some activists say they are planning to camp out and occupy the site for several weeks.
Although the DVBIA recently sent out an email to members suggesting "having additional security at entrance points or near areas where there is a potential for damage such as large windows," Jones, a former police officer who spent eight years as the VPD's district commander for the downtown peninsula, said he doesn't expect there will be trouble. "I can't see it getting too out of hand," said Jones. "The big wild card is if the Black Bloc types show up and if they will be allowed into the group. That's what they like to do. They like to hide themselves within a group and then work their way into the main body of a protest and then look for opportunities to cause some mayhem. But they might find themselves rejected in this case because it really is a mainstream group of people who are objecting to the amount of wealth accrued by a very small number of individuals and corporations versus the rest of the world and the gap that keeps expanding."
The Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»protest, which has been criticized for lacking a clear message, also received an endorsement from the B.C. Federation of Labour on Wednesday. "The Occupy Wall Street movement expresses an underlying desire for fairness and equality in the economy and our society," said president Jim Sinclair in a prepared statement. "The B.C. Federation of Labour stands in solidarity with that desire, as part of the 99 per cent, and calls on the governments of British Columbia and Canada to act swiftly and decisively to narrow the gap. The B.C. Fed will support an ongoing peaceful occupation in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»on these important issues."
Protesters have described themselves as the "99 per cent" of average citizens whose interests are not being reflected by the bankers and corporations who represent only the wealthy one per cent. In B.C., the wealthiest one per cent of households declared an average income of $820,000 last year, an increase of $602,000 from 10 years ago, roughly double the rate of inflation for that period according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
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